Personal Message from the New National Director
Well, it is truly a blessing to be part of
CCI/Canada. In
some ways it is like returning home. Some of you
may
know that I was recently the President of
Emmanuel
Bible College in Kitchener for the last 7
years. Before
that I seemed to always have my hand in camping
ministry whether it was speaking at family and
teen
camps, doing counselor training, working in the
kitchen, directing, or writing camp
curriculum. Camp
ministry has been very close to my heart.
Believe it or not my wife and I honeymooned at
Frontier Lodge in Quebec (sort of, we were both
working, Laurie was secretary and I was food
purchaser). My bride of my youth and I have been
married for twenty eight years, have four
children and
have recently heard that we will be
grandparents
in the new year. Life is good, God is Good.
As I enter the role of National Director I do
so with great
expectation of what God has done, is doing
and will do
through camp ministry. Four key goals are at
the top of my list.
First is the desire to develop relationships
across
Canada and see them thrive.
Second, is recognition and to be actively
involved in
identifying and supporting members across Canada.
Third, I desire to be a personal resource and
identify
resources that can enhance camp ministry in each
region, recognizing that we together are
our best
resource.
Finally, I wish to be part of revival in CCI/Canada.
We are
privileged to be part of kingdom work, and I
believe God
wants not only a revival in our hearts but in
families and
youth across our nation.
Relationship-Recognition-Resource-Revival
Blessings! Derrick Mueller
CALENDAR
Nov 28-Dec 2 CCCA National Conference
Colorado
Springs
Dec 10-15 Visiting Alberta Members
Jan 24-30 Sask. College Camp Tour
Feb 1-4 BC Camp Conference and
visiting BC members
Feb 22-24 CCI Regional Event for
Alberta/BC/Yukon
Mar 1-3 CCI/Canada Board Meeting
Mar 22-23 CCI
Manitoba Regional event
April 12,13 CCI Ontario Camp tour and
event
April 21-27
International Summit Panama
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New Direction
In this issue of Equipper we are
experimenting a little bit with the format and
presentation of the e-zine. Our goal is to
make it easier to deliver, track and resource
camps. I
want to encourage you to give submissions and
news
from your area to share with other members. Your
input on how to make this an even greater
resource
each month would be appreciated. The news
letter has embedded links to
various websites and resources. I thought a
partial focus for this Equipper would be on
prayer. There are video links to
inspirational clips and info. Try clicking
around. If you want to know more about CCI
just click the picture. Enjoy!
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A Word From the Board
Change is inevitable. I'm experiencing that
as I grow
older. My wife and I had our first holiday in
the US as
senior citizens in September (we are 55 and
56 years
old). One of the changes we experienced was
that we
could get a senior's discount at a motel.
Another one
that we enjoyed was getting a "senior coffee" at
McDonalds. It is great coffee and it is
cheap. CCI
Canada is also changing. As you know, we now
have
a National Director. When Bev was hired as our
Administrator, we experienced a lot of good
change
because of the professionalism that Bev
brought to our
national office. I am convinced that we are
going to
see a lot of positive change as Derrick
Mueller gets
established in his position as our National
Director. A
significant change that has begun for the CCI
board
since Derrick was hired is the process of
transitioning
from an operations, or hands on board, to
more of a
policy board. We had about a day and a half
of board
meetings after the ELI and our first item of
business
was to work through a document that clearly
defined
Board and National Director responsibilities. As
Derrick put it, "We have now established the
rules of
engagement".
Please pray for Derrick, Bev, and the
board as we adjust to our new roles during these
exciting times for CCI Canada.
Kim Coursey,
CCI Canada Chair
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Derrick's Testimony
In a society where today's families
seem to be
disintegrating at increasing rate Derrick's
background
was no different. At the age of three his
mother left his
dad leaving him with two small children.
After a while it
was apparent that his father could not work
and take
care of both him and his sister. Social services
became involved and the journey from foster
home to
foster home began.
After five years and approximately seven
different
foster homes he now found himself beginning a
new
life with a mother, stepfather and new sister
who he
did not know. At the age of eight he had
become a
skeptical young man questioning and doubtful
of any
stability.
He can recall one Christmas saying good night to
three different fathers; his real father, his
stepfather
and his foster father. Life didn't seem to
get any better.
His school experience was characterized by being
academically challenged and bullied and
picked on
by his peers. The end of high school dubbed
him as
an outcast.
Home life didn't get any better. His real
father's visits
became less frequent and his conflict with his
stepfather intensified. His mother became
suicidal and
alcoholic. Daily living became a battle to
stay alive.
Rejected by his peers, dubbed the problem
kid at
home, he soon found no reason to live. Derrick
comments "I tried to cope with by running
away and
attempting suicide." At the age of fourteen
he hung a
rope over a beam in bedroom in the basement and
decided that he was tired of living with the
pain of
rejection. In that moment of doubt and
despair he cried
out to God for love and found hope for the
first time.
His experience with a High School Christian
group
became instrumental in his acceptance of
Christ and
his walk with God. Derrick remarks, "Some
people say
that Jesus is a crutch. They are right you
know, but at
least I can walk."
By the age of sixteen family relations were
at their
maximum stress point. He became the scapegoat
for
home tensions and at the age of seventeen he was
informed he was no longer welcome. The dismissal
from home came as an actual relief, though
the next
coming months were hard and confusing. The God
who he had cried out to two years earlier
became his
substance and life. He decided with God's
help he
was going to move past the pain to a new
future. He
realized that he could not change the past
but he
could change the future.
He met his wife Laurie through the church as
she was
on her own search for love and meaning in
life. Through out the years he and his wife
Laurie
have raised four children and as a family
have hung
on to their faith and belief in Jesus Christ.
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Time to Renew Your Membership!
It is now that time to renew your CCI/Canada
membership.
One of
my priorities this year is to increase the
value of
having a membership
with CCI. The board has already made active
steps to
increasing value by hiring a national
director. Things
in the works are: training and development
modules, Home Depot group discounts, HR
Resources
such as salary comparisons, revised website and
Equipper etc. I am also very excited
about the National Conference coming up in
Florida in November 2010.
We as a CCI team are committed to growing the
identity of the association into an
indispensible resource to both camps and
conference
centres.
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10 Elements in the Lord's Prayer
1. A personal relationship with God-"Our
Father"
2. Faith-"which art in heaven"
3. Worship- "hallowed be thy name"
4. Expectation-"thy kingdom come"
5. Submission- "thy will be done in earth, as
it is in
heaven"
6. Petition-"give us this day our daily bread"
7. Confession-"and forgive us our debt"
8. Compassion-"as we forgive our debtors"
9. Dependence-"and lead us not into
temptation, but
deliver us from evil"
10. Acknowledgment- "for thine is the
kingdom,
and the
power, and the glory forever"
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Inspiration for the Heart
I just picked a book off my shelf that I read
this past
winter, "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell. (He
has also
written "Blink" and "The Tipping Point").
a bit. Here are some quotes I wrote down:
"Success is a function of persistence &
doggedness & the
willingness to work hard for 22 minutes to make
sense of something that most people would
give up on
after 30 seconds."
"It's not the brightest who succeed. Nor is
success simply
the sum of the decisions and efforts we make
on our
own behalf. It is, rather, a gift.
Outliers are those who
have been given opportunities - and who had the
presence of mind to seize them."
"Practice isn't the thing you do once you're
good. It's
the thing you do that makes you good."
We can argue some points, but what I want to
impart to
you is this: It's simply that in working
hard, seizing
moments of each day and the opportunities
that God
puts before us, we are to take what He has
given us
and do it well -- very well in fact! That's
what makes it
a success for His glory alone, not for
ourselves. He
places before us each moment of each day and the
possibilities to change the world around us
by loving
and working hard to have excellence in all
that we do.
Success isn't simply an action we arrive at,
it's what
helps us put our head on the pillow at night
and know
we did our best. Our success as camp leaders
isn't in
numbers, the money we bring in, souls that were
brought to faith or the many guests that come
to our
camp. It is in the details of everyday life
that makes
God's heart glad as we are to be "Him with
skin'" here
on earth. He alone is our success and our
value is in
Him.
It's tenacity. You work hard, you practice,
and you don't
give up. Press on dear ones you can do this.
Christine J. Long
Camp Peniel
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The Power of Prayer
In the busyness of camp life we often forget
the power
of prayer. Martin Luther said, " I have so much
to do
today that I have to spend an extra hour in
prayer".
Prayer is tapping into God's power. The
following 12
elements will help you draw near to the
presence of
God. Each element can be done in 5-minute
intervals
throughout your day, allowing you
approximately 1
hour in prayer.
1. PRAISE-Spend time praising God. Make a
list of all the
things you can praise Him for.
2. WAITING-In silence just wait upon the
Lord, allow Him
to speak.
3. CONFESSION-Confess your sins to the
Lord.
4. SCRIPTURE PRAYING- Using your Bible
read
through
the Word, allowing it to speak to you.
5. WATCHING- Gaze at God's creation
and meditate
upon his goodness.
6. INTERCESSION- Pray for others (friends,
family, co-
workers, Canada, the World, the church, etc.).
7. PETITION- Bring your personal prayer
requests to the
Lord.
8. THANKSGIVING- Reflect on all the things
that you
should be thankful for. Write them down.
9. SINGING- Take time to sing praises
to the
Lord,
reflecting on the words, and offering them up
to the Lord.
10. MEDITATION-Contemplate God, ponder
all He
has
shown you in your time with Him.
11. LISTENING- Clear your mind of all
thoughts, close
your eyes,
and sit and actively listen to what God
has to say to
you.
12. PRAISE- Walk and audibly praise God in
conclusion
to your time with Him.
· 1 Samuel 12:23 "As for me, I will
certainly
not sin
against the Lord by ending my prayers for you."
Consistently Pray for those you lead.
· James 5:16 "The earnest prayer of a
righteous
person has great power and wonderful results."
A promise from God
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GETTING THE WORD OUT-Contact Management
Do you remember which parent offered you some
kitchen equipment when they were picking up
their
kids from camp? Which Board member was it who
asked you to call
them about a lead they have for a large donation?
What was the name of the pastor who said
they'd be
happy to have you come and do a presentation
if you
call them in two months?
Where did you put the name and address of the
former
staff member who was talking about another
former
staff with ten kids, none of whom have ever
been to
camp?
Is it one of "Murphy's laws" that people only
tell you these
things at the busiest moments of life?
A good contact management software program is an
essential tool in the successful follow up of
every
opportunity. I now use a software program
called
Maximizer. It has an address book where a
camp can
enter the name and contact information for every
family or child who comes to camp. In fact,
every donor
can be entered there and rental groups as
well. Then
it has a section where one can add notes
pertaining to
the contact. You can enter a summary of your
last
conversation, that way you can quickly review
your
notes prior to the next time you encounter them.
In Maximizer you can list additional people
under each
contact in the address book. In this way you
can add the
names of children in each family and even
enter notes
specific to each child. (Interest in CIT
program, hates
basketball, sent home from camp in 200X), or
you can
add the names of various contacts for each
rental group.
Another tool in Maximizer is "Opportunities".
Here you
place information on each contact you have
reason to
believe may take a further step with you.
This might be
a family you met at a presentation who might
send
their child to camp next summer. Or it might
be the
person who said they could not send a
donation right
away but asked you to remind them in six
months time.
Or maybe it's a lead for a new rental group.
In "Opportunities" you designate the area of
potential
interest for each listing such as
Fundraising, Camper,
Rental,,,, You can then sort your
opportunities to see
how many are in each area. This way you can
assess
where you need to find more leads. No "rental"
opportunities? Best find some time to contact
some
more churches, schools, community groups,
mission
agencies -to find those missing
opportunities. Need
more campers? Best check which opportunities
need
to be followed up on to fill the beds next
summer.
Maximizer also includes a "hot list". This is
where you
can generate a daily list of the action items
you need to
act upon to move your opportunities through to
successful
completion.
Maximizer is widely used in sales and can
easily be
used in a camp or conference centre setting.
Check it
out at www.maximizer.com. Look in the section
titled
"What is CRM" for "CRM Resources". There you
will
find a 5 minute video that is worth looking at.
Maximizer for a single user costs $299 US.
For three
licensed users the cost is $599 US and
includes a
tutorial and 2 hours of support time.
There are other programs similar to
Maximizer. The
key is to have a system where you can keep
track of
your relationships with campers, parents,
donors, staff,
Board members, rental groups. The system I used
for many years is called "memory" and soon I
found I
had too much going on so memory failed me!
There are software programs out there to help
you get
organized.
Quote of the Month: "I have an exaggerated
sense of
happy - I err on the side of friendly" Terri
Norris
Submitted by Quentin Robinson.
Quentin is a
Business
Solutions Advisor with "Grand and Toy".
Previously he
was in Camping Ministry and youth ministry
for over
twenty years.
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Let's Connect!
Track me on Twitter, Facebook or Youtube
Lets connect! As the new National Director I
would
love to keep into touch with as many of you as
possible using some of the social networking
tools
available. My goal is to offer leadership
insights on
twitter and face book. Will you tweet me?
Will you be
my friend?
http://twitter.com/DerrickMueller
www.facebook.com/derrick.mueller
www.youtube.com/user/whenilookbackilaugh
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TID BITS
* It is proposed to combine the 8% Ontario
sales tax and
the 5% GST into a single 13% value-added
sales tax that
would be federally administered, starting
July 1, 2010.
*Over 55 Camp leaders gathered at Camp Arnes
for
Leadership Training with John Pearson November
25-28.
* Teen Ranch (Ontario) has been advised that
their
charitable status is annulled. Pray for them
as they seek
to appeal the decision.
* CCI/Canada has been invited to participate
in the
International Summit in April in Panama. This
meeting
will be attended by the members of the Board
of Directors
of CCI-Worldwide, the Regional
Representatives of CCI-
Worldwide
* Derrick Mueller (ND) and Bruce Mann (CCI Board
Chair
Elect will
attend the CCCA 2009 National Conference in
Colorado Springs Nov 29-Dec 2.
* New to CCI/Canada- Team Profiling.
Strengthening
your teams is strengthening your camps. As a
resource to
camps and conference centers a complete team
profile,
individual assessment, group analysis and
training
session is available for CCI/Canada members only
for $129.00
for 2010.
* CCI/Canada to launch nationwide
compensation
survey of camps and conference centers. The
goal is to
collect data surveys
.* Plan for the CCI/Canada National Conference --
REALITY CHECK --
November
21-24, 2010, returning to the Tradewinds Island
Grand Resort in St. Pete Beach, Florida!.
* Did you know that you can support CCI/
Canada by buying books from Amazon online
through our account. All the books displayed
at ELI conference can also be seen on our
website.
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A Must Read Book!
If you only read one book this year let it be
this one. I think this is a book that every
staff, board and volunteer should have. There
is power in prayer. What a way to start a new
camp year by focusing in on communication
with God.
If you check out you tube there are many
visual clips, commentaries and slide shows
related. Use some of the visuals in your next
board, staff or training meeting. Every
chapter is filled with a wealth of insights.
Click on book to hear Philip Yancey talk
about his new Book.
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Executive Leadership Institute 2009 at Camp Arnes
CCI is committed to provide "must have"
training and equipping events for camping
leaders across this country and ELI
'09 did
not disappoint! Over the years the CCI
Executive Leadership Institute has had a huge
impact on leaders within Christian Camping in
Canada. Medeba and those we serve have been
profoundly impacted by the the application of
ELI training over the years. The training,
dovetailed with opportunity to network, is
invaluable. With a realization of this value
we brought several staff to this ELI and it
has been a great resource for us as a team.
They continue to make reference to the
management and spiritual truths that were
taught and discussed during the Institute.
They also reference discussions they had with
other camp leaders around a meal, or in the
lounge. These have brought about
encouragement, ideas, and hope. I am grateful
to CCI for the vision and execution of this
event. I hope others will take advantage of
attending ELI in the future. - Steve
Archibald, Medeba
Click to connect to John Pearson's website
for insightful leadership reflections.
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CLASSIFIEDS
Executive Director - Camp Nutimik, MB
General responsibility : To manage,
supervise, and direct the functional roles,
ministries, and activities of Lake Nutimik
Baptist Camp.
Lake Nutimik Baptist Camp is seeking a full
time Executive Director, who as a result of
their personal relationship with God through
faith in His Son, Jesus Christ, has a passion
to help develop and lead a vibrant year-round
Christian camp ministry. The candidate must
be a skilled administrator, organizer, and
confident communicator. He / She shall have
demonstrated leadership and motivational
expertise in previous camp ministry settings.
A minimum of 3 years of camp experience in an
administrative capacity is a requirement. The
Executive Director shall work in cooperation
with the Board of Directors to build and
nurture a camp ministry that provides a
balanced program of skills development,
education, relationship building, evangelism,
worship, and leadership training. The
Executive Director shall oversee camp
programming, food services, administration,
and maintenance, and shall cooperate with
functional teams on facilities development,
marketing & promotions, and fundraising efforts.
Lake Nutimik Baptist Camp is a non-profit
organization associated with the Manitoba
Baptist Association and is nestled in the
beauty of the Whiteshell Provincial Park on
the shore of Lake Nutimik ( 140 km NE of
Winnipeg ). The camp offers a summer camping
program for over 600 campers, year round
facilities for retreats, conferences,
education, and leadership training.
Established in 1954, Camp Nutimik is
accredited with the Manitoba Camping
Association and is a member of Christian
Camping International-Canada.
The Executive Director shall be based in
Winnipeg. Salary and benefits package to be
negotiated.
Please refer to our website at
www.campnutimik.com to view a complete job
description and a history of Camp Nutimik.
Director of Education - Shiktehawk Bible
Camp, NB
Shiktehawk Bible Camp is seeking an
individual to fill the full-time position of
Director of Education. This individual will
have a desire to serve God and will
demonstrate a passion for working in a very
exciting and challenging multi-faceted
ministry that involves youth of all ages.
Working collaboratively with the Director of
Camping to ensure all ministry programs
operate cohesively, to achieve a common set
of goals and objectives, the Director of
Education will: assist with the development
and delivery of innovative camping programs
that can be run safely and efficiently;
assist with the training & development
programs for summer staff and potential
summer staff within the Association; be
responsible for the promotion of the
ministries at Shiktehawk through the
development and the execution of marketing
and communication efforts, including the web
site. take the lead in the development of a
new 12-month ministry program, focusing on
individuals from the ages of 18 - 24 and
offering these students continuing education
that includes: High quality Biblical and
leadership training; Challenges through
outdoor adventure programming; Opportunities
to deepen their faith; Practical, hands-on
experiences of fellowship and service.
Please forward expressions of interest to:
Shiktehawk Bible Camp, Box 869, Bristol NB
E7M 2X8 Attn: Executive Committee
Registrar - Year Round Opening - Camp
Qwanoes, BC
This vital, full-time, year round, paid
position is responsible for all aspects of
the camp's registration, including reception,
processing registrations, correspondence,
cabin assignment, and coordinating the
registration team. This team player is a
ministry oriented, spiritually mature
Christian with a deep love for children's and
youth ministry. Must possess excellent
organizational, communication and
administrative abilities, and a proficiency
with computers. Our Registrar is a vital
part of our administrative team.
Qwanoes is a youth oriented, high adventure,
rapidly growing, innovative, Christ-centred
camp seeking to introduce children, youth and
adults to a life with Christ. Qwanoes, a
local First Nations name meaning 'peace' and
also 'new birth,' is situated on 54 acres of
magnificent scenic waterfront property on
Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada.
The heart of Qwanoes is a heart for kids and
for Jesus Christ.
For more information, please contact Scott
Bayley, Executive Director, at
scott@qwanoes.ca, 250-246-3014 or toll-free
888-99-QWANOES.
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